A pressure reducing regulator that is especially adapted for use in compressed natural gas engine systems.
In U.S. Pat. No. 298,687 there is disclosed a regulator having a valve head mounted to a valve rod axially intermediate portion for moving upwardly to block fluid flow upwardly through a valve seat, an upwardly opening cup shaped piston head connected to the lower end of the valve rod, a downwardly opening cup shaped piston connected to the upper end of the valve rod and a spring abutting against the downwardly opening piston to urge the downwardly opening piston and the valve rod downwardly. An axial passage extends through the valve rod to open to the ambient atmosphere below the piston head and to the chamber between the upper piston head and the valve cap that closes the upper end of the regulator bore, it being optional to provide an opening in the valve cap.
The pressure regulator of U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,934 includes a plunger axially movable in a valve member bore and having an enlarged diameter piston portion in fluid sealing relationship with the wall of the bore to in combination with said wall and the valve seat form a variable volume pressure chamber having the regulator outlet opening thereto, a valve stem portion depending from the enlarged piston to extend through the pressure chamber and the valve seat passage, and a smaller diameter piston for blocking fluid flow from the inlet to the valve seat passage when the plunger is in its valve seated closed position, and a counterbalance spring for urging the plunger to a valve seat open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,982 discloses a regulator having a valve body mounting a diaphragm to in combination therewith and a valve seat form a variable volume pressure chamber having the outlet opening thereto, a spring resiliently urging the central portion of the diaphragm toward the valve seat, and a valve stem assembly having a plunger that is movable to block fluid flow from the inlet to the valve seat passage and a valve rod connected to the plunger and extended through the valve seat passage and variable chamber to abut against a ball which is mounted by the central portion of the diaphragm.
The pressure regulator of U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,947 includes a manually adjustable spindle threadedly mounted in the top of the valve housing, a lower enlarged diameter button on the spindle being rotatable relative to the plunger by being located in the generally T-shaped opening in the plunger while axially adjusting the plunger.
In order to make improvements in pressure regulators and particularly to adapt such regulators for use in vehicles that utilize compressed natural gas engines, this invention has been made.